In Scandinavian folklore, a small household spirit or gnome-like creature that protects homes and farms, often mischievous but generally good-natured.
From Old Norse 'níss' or Swedish/Danish 'nisse,' possibly related to 'ni' meaning 'nephew' or to old Germanic house spirit traditions. The creature appears throughout Nordic mythology and Christmas traditions.
The nisse is basically Scandinavia's version of a household brownie or leprechaun, but instead of gold, they want porridge—every Christmas Eve in Denmark and Norway, people still leave out bowls of rice porridge for the nisse, a tradition that's thousands of years old.
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